Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2126 to 2150 of 3926 results

2126. Goodness and Mercy

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... midst of despair and the deafening noise of doom. You have discovered the awesome power of the truths that his marvelous statement of faith and confidence directs us to. My word to you is simple: continue to allow the Shepherd to strengthen you, direct you, and support you in all the unfinished stories of your journey. To those of us who have been hesitant to allow anybody to help us and lead us, I encourage you to open your life to the Shepherd who inspired David to write these words that have lived with ...

2127. Depression: When the Spirit Is Faint

Psalm 142:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... depend upon the emotion of a moment. Joe Garagiola, co-host of NBC''s "Today Show", recently told of the visit he made to a local drug store. He said, "From the shelves I selected a bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol, twelve ounces of Kaopectate, an elastic knee support, a supply of corn plasters, some Dristan, a vaporizer, a remedy for sore gums, and a tube of Preparation H. I took all that stuff to the counter where they rang it up on the register. I couldn''t believe my ears when the clerk handed me the ...

2128. Feasting and Fasting for Lent (Part III)

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... is a Hell. Like the title of the movie, "I Have Been There and Back." Now, all I think of is Heaven. I am so thankful that God has something better for his children than the reality of Hell. FAST FROM CRITICIZING THE CHURCH AND SIMPLY LOVE AND SUPPORT THE BRIDE THAT CHRIST GAVE HIS LIFE FOR. Dr. Maurice Boyd put it so beautifully when he writes, "We do not belong to the Church because we are perfect but because we are loved." The Church does not exist for the sake of morality, but to declare forgiveness ...

2129. Maundy Thursday: Two Memorials

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of the ruling class for far too long. It seems that one of our Black pastors by the name of Ike Maloabi was arrested and placed in prison. While in prison, he was beaten and tortured by a White Afrikaner. Bishop Story came to the prison to support and encourage a fellow worker in the Lord''s vineyard. After a time of sharing, the Bishop and pastor were ready to share "Holy Communion" together. Standing close-by was the same prison guard who had inflicted great physical harm to Pastor Ike Maloabi. The Bishop ...

2130. Good News for Tough Times - Encouragment for the Soul

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... years of his life preaching and sharing the Gospel to the people on the streets in Houston, Texas. He built a church with his own money. He built a Youth Center to keep them off the streets and off drugs and out of bars and taverns. He needed money to support the work he started, so he used the skills he had. He went back into the ring. Foreman says the real victory is in what Christ has done for him. He says he cannot comprehend why he would have been so bad in the past. Friends and family today call ...

2131. The Noteworthy Witness of a Widow

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of Jesus by offering a real meal. Yes, this is taking the phrase, "the love of God," out of the abstract and giving it some flesh. Remember, before the cross was empty, it was quite full. This much I know about this church''s requests for financial support. This church is not asking us to give our money to "it." There is no "it." We are the church. So all requests for funds come from us to ourselves asking "the fellowship of believers" to join together and utilize money for the causes in which we believe ...

2132. God Is Now Here

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... of three stories where heaven is up, earth is here, and hell is down. That doesn't make any difference. We simply need to know that God, the Holy One, is behind it all. God has lovingly created us, and God wants us to look to him for strength and support. Whether it is "up" or "out," God is here. Christmas suggests a second direction in which to look to encounter the Holy One: look around at the everyday world in which you live! God came to earth in a smelly cattle shed -- the last place one would expect to ...

2133. A Tireless and Timeless Image

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3). Secondly, the image provides us with some clues regarding what it means that the church is to be a pastoral presence in the world. Day care centers, medical clinics, programs of calling and support, housing, education, financial assistance, food pantries -- all these and so much more represent expressions of the church's pastoral outreach. These are all consonant with the church's understanding of how we as God's people have first been shepherded by God ...

2134. Together, But Not Enmeshed

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... who views his classroom as an assembly line. To whom do you warm: a minister who is always in your face, or one who helps you save face? A supervisor who acts like Attila the Hun, or one who resembles your favorite aunt or uncle, and while supportive, also holds you to a reasonable standard? And what of our image of God? Some view God as a capricious, vindictive, and erratic presence whose delight is our miserableness. The souls of those who so believe are going to exhibit a climate quite at variance with ...

2135. Time Out!

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... is available through prayer. Perhaps you are familiar with the so-called SETI project–the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. From the late 1960s until 1993 NASA funded this effort to one degree or another. Since 1993 the effort has been supported by the private non-profit SETI Institute and the grassroots SETI League. For 45 years, spending hundreds of millions of dollars, we have been sending messages into the universe with the purpose of discovering whether there is any other intelligent life ...

2136. Bearing the Cross

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... no escape from taking up a cross. That’s what following Jesus is all about. It’s about living the Christ-life in the world. Heeding a friend’s call for help. Looking for ways to improve the community. Joining with others through our church to support mission ministries. Being sensitive to those with special needs. Inviting a friend to join you in Bible study. Doing all those things that take us out of our comfort zone, our preoccupation with ourselves and those we love, and focusing on the call of God ...

2137. The Impossible Option

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

... ' sake forgives her estranged sister. A teenager gives up a chance to play in the championship soccer game to take part in his youth group's Habitat for Humanity project. A family decides to simplify its lifestyle as a response to the Gospel, and to give more time and financial support to the ministry of its church. Small things? Maybe. But they may be the first fruits of a new life that our Lord raises up when the old dies. Who knows what sort of new life God will shape in us as we begin to take him at his ...

2138. The Story behind the Glory

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... responded by presenting gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In essence they presented all that their lives represented. That, dear friends, is the "rest of the story." A person of color was applying for membership in a Southern church. When questioned about his willingness to support the congregation with his time, talent, and treasure, he frankly said, "Brethren, I'se all I'se got." In sober truth that is all any of us possess, but if we give it, we give all else, as well. We will leave this fellowship ...

2139. What It Takes to Do the Job

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... get a lot of answers from our parents, from our teachers, from our politicians, and even from our pastors. Job #1 is being home on time, keeping your room clean, not talking back, doing your homework, getting an A, paying your bills, being successful, supporting the party, staying off drugs, knowing your Bible, loving your neighbor, keeping your nose and all other parts clean. The list is long. Of course when you get inside the heads of individuals and move away from the “ought” of authority figures to ...

2140. The Holiness of the Sacred

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... and unclean people. For example, those with leprosy were unclean, and with the undergirding of the religious establishment lepers were ostracized from the community. The poor and the tax collectors and the adulterers also began to be separated out of community, with the support of, if not by the very initiation of the religious community. It all seemed so right; after all, God is holy and clean and righteous, and hates sin. And then along comes Jesus. And what does he do? Well, take those, for example ...

2141. Do You Hear What I Hear?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... of the message of new life in Christ being taken casually. Our task and our joy today is to stand boldly in that faith when we walk out of these doors and into the emotional, complicated, and stress-filled days of our lives. By the grace of God and the support of the community of faith, we can do it. He is risen! He is risen indeed. Thanks be to God.

2142. Easy to Say, Hard to Do

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... kind Jesus died to reveal, is not just a nice feeling or set of good intentions. Real love, which enables one to forgive the unforgivable and causes people to do things that look foolish to those who do not understand, such love needs the direct "installation" and support and nurture from God. And to be anything less than honest about that will only lead people into deep waters and great disillusionment if they try it on their own thinking, "Oh, I see. I can do that." It's like seeing a runner loping down ...

2143. Grace in the Midst of Suffering

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... an earnest and energetic woman has been attempting to make August 8 a national holiday in the United States. She'd like to call it, "National Admit You're Happy Day." She has canvassed the governors of all fifty states, personally requesting their support. At least fifteen governors have responded positively. A good many others have been less happy with the idea -- including George Pataki, the governor of New York, who has said, "The state of New York has no official position on happiness." Does God have ...

2144. Grace in the Midst of Judgment

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... our neighbors are glibly confident of a happy outcome in the next world. In the mid-1990s when US News & World Report asked a large group of Americans whom they thought was worthy of going to heaven, Mother Teresa of Calcutta topped the list, receiving the support of 84 percent of those polled. Oprah Winfrey received a thumbs-up from 66 percent, Bill and Hillary Clinton merited 52 and 55 percent respectively, and O. J. Simpson brought up the rear at 16 percent. What was most revealing was the answer to the ...

2145. Who Needs a Doctor?

Mark 2:13-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... afternoon. We went to a surprise birthday party for Pauline Hord. She's now 84 years old. The party was given by Second Chance Ministry, an inspiring and effective ministry in which Pauline and other members of our congregation are involved, and which our church supports financially. I was invited to the party while I was on Study Leave. I returned from Study Leave on Saturday evening and went to my office to do last minute preparation for Sunday morning. A note from my secretary reminded me of the party ...

2146. Lift High the Tree

John 12:20-36

Sermon

George Bass

... the living, vested, Christ-of-Easter superimposed upon it. Not very long ago, I preached to a congregation in a contemporary church building I had never seen before. Just before I entered the pulpit, I happened to look up toward one of the wide wooden arches supporting the roof and was startled to see the shadow of the cross reflected upon it. At first, I didn’t realize what was happening, but I looked up toward a clerestory window near the roof and discovered that a cross had been built into the middle ...

2147. Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... was a man who had a brilliant, analytical mind, but who initially used it for self rather than God. He became a tax collector, a man who was in bed with the Romans. It was his responsibility to extract the tax money from his brothers--money that went to support the very institution that was enslaving the Jews. Matthew’s mind was like an adding machine. His god was the dollar mark. He reminds us of just how far many of us are willing to go to advance our own personal ambition. But when Matthew came over to ...

2148. Have We Kept Our Contract with God?

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... leadership and points the way, through the church, and we are asked to follow. The Christian community provides us with the sacraments as moments of God's grace and special presence in our lives. We have the wonderful gift of the community's proximity in our lives, supporting, assisting, and, yes, at times challenging us to be all we can be in the eyes of the Lord. God and the community of the faithful have met their commitments to us; have we been as faithful to God and the church? The Christian life gives ...

2149. Death Leads to Life

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Long ago on a high mountaintop three trees were speaking about their future dreams. The first tree said, "I would really like to be made into a cradle so that a newborn baby might rest comfortably and I could support that new life." The second tree looked down at a small stream that was flowing into a big river and said, "I want to be made into a great ship so I can carry useful cargo to all corners of the world." The third tree viewed the valley from its ...

2150. Sowing Good Seed - Father's Day

Mark 4:26-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... important, all three Manning boys are men of character. Archie claims that one of his greatest joys in life is his relationship with his sons. All the Manning boys praise their father for being actively involved in their lives. They describe him as loving and supportive. Archie recalls that as his sons were growing up, he made sure to spend lots of time with them. One reason that Archie Manning has been so deliberate in building a relationship with his sons is because he lost that chance with his own father ...

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